Facts & Figures

Soap Opera. The soap industry's "Big Three"--Lever Bros., Procter & Gamble, and Colgate-Palmolive-Peet--were accused by the Federal Trade Commission of unlawful price discrimination against small customers by their rebate system to big buyers. P. & G. admitted that it gave rebates to protect wholesale stocks, whenever it lowered prices. But, said P. & G., it was a practice that had been respected for "many, many years," and once approved by FTC.

Texas Payoff. After nearly 18 months of negotiations, Monsanto Chemical Co. and the Oil Insurance Association of Chicago finally reached an agreement on the company's claims for its plant & equipment losses in the great Texas City explosion (TIME, April 28, 1947). Total indemnity: $17,312,000, the biggest single insurance payment in history, according to Monsanto.

Letdown. U.S. exports in August fell $34 million from July (to $988 million), the lowest since October 1946. Imports rose $40 million (to $598 million), making the monthly balance of trade in favor of the U.S. the smallest in nearly two years. EGA shipments are expected to lift exports in the coming months.

Pickup. In Washington, Larimer's Market was boosting its business by literally picking customers up on the streets. It sends out a station wagon to cruise in the store neighborhood every day, bring back pedestrians who hail it at its regular stops.

Less Work, More Pay. U.S. employment slipped for the second consecutive month, but it was still at 60,312,000 in September, the Department of Commerce reported. The drop was caused by high school and college workers returning to school. Personal incomes were still climbing. They edged up in August to a record annual rate of $215 billion, up $2 billion over the July rate.

Tungsten Cartel. A federal district court found General Electric, two of its subsidiaries, and three of their officials guilty in an antitrust suit of conspiring with Germany's Krupp between 1927 and 1940 to monopolize world trade in tungsten and other hard metals. G.E., planning an appeal, claimed that "the law applicable to situations of this kind is in a state of utter chaos."

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